perkins



@citen gieten gateit-t @ffice JOHN M. PERKINS, or PLAINFIELD, NEWJERSEY, Assiettes To n. n.

PnnKiNs, 0F sini/1nA PLAGE.

Leners Patent No. 82,438, aerea .separater 22, 186s.l

IMPROVED FRUIT-BOX.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: v A p Be itknown that I, JOHN 'hLPERKINs ofPlainfield, in the county" of Union, and State of New Jersey, haveinvented a newand useful Box' for Packing and Marketing Grapes, Berries,and other small fruit;- and I`do hereby declare that the following is afull and exact description thereof, reference being had'to theaccompanying drawings, and to the letters 'of reference marked thereon.

The nature of my invention consists in constructing a square or oblongsquare box for` packing and mar"- keting grapes, berries, or othersmallA fruit, with the sides and ends thereof formed of one strip ofveneer, and the top and bottom thereof of a second strip of veneer, soarranged and connected with the square or oblong square framework as toform a wrapper therefor, and to allow either the top or bottom to beused as bottom or top indiscriminately; by which arrangement I enablethe purchaser to as readily examine that portion of the fruit firstplaced in the box of the marketman as that last packed, the object beingto prevent the deceptions sometimes practisedibt marketmen in'coveringinferior fr-uit with a layer of fruit of better quality.

Figure 1 is a perspective of one form of my box, partially closed.

A is the square or oblong-framework, which is made of a single strip ofveneer, slotted at o `0, or more or less of the slots, to give a greateror less amount of ventilation, the number and size orf the slots to suit`the kind of fruitto be packed. i

This-veneer is scored or partially cut through on the external surfaceatthe lines 'a a a a. The veneer` is.)

then bentyarouhd a suitable forme/r, into the square or oblong squareform which the boxis destinedto assume, the end, b, of the veneer beingcarried back' against the inner surface c of the back of the box-frameA, l

and the other extremity, d, being brought' around and lapped over theend, b,`to which'it is united by tacks, or otherwise. Parts ff may, ifdesired, be attached to the interior of the corners of the framework tostiien it. It is now ready for the wrapper.

f B is the wrapper, whichis formed of a single strip of veneer, thewidthof which isprecisely the/length of the box, and the lengthof whichis suiiicient to rencircle the` frame A.' This rwrapper is s cored orcut partially through on the otside, at the lines e e e e', by which-thewrapper is divided into five parts, having four hinges formed by thatportion' of the libre of the veneer which remains unsevered aft-erscoring.

Slots, represented at z, may be cut in the wrapper to increase theventilation of the fruit. The middle division of the wrapper is placedagainst the exterior rof the back,vc, of the framework A, andpermanently connected thereto' by 'tacks z'z', or other equivalentmeans.

The box is closed by bringing the wrapper to its place around theframe,and the two extremities are brought in opposition to each other at thedotted line g, along the centreI of the front side ofthe box, thusforming one of the double sides'of the box when closed, where they areheld with sulicicnt firmness by tacks r z, or by a band or, string.Either of the open ends of the frame thus constitutes the top of thebox. and

.either constitutes the bottom thereof.

In opening the box to remove its contents, either flap may be lifted up4by withdrawing the temporary tacks zz, or by removing the band orstring.; and in inspecting the fruit, bot-h aps may be alternatelyelevated, and thus a view may be had of both the top and the bottom ofthe contents of the box.

S represents a cleat, fastened, hy tacks or otherwise, to one' or bothends of the box to make space between the boxes when packed in crates orchests for transporting, to insure a more perfect ventilation.

Figure 2 shws a horizontal section of frame for a box, in which, insteadof being lapped at the end, as shown at d, tig.. l, the lap occurs atvthe side, aud extends the entire length of the-frame from .I to K. Thiswould form a frame with two thicknesses of veneer at one side andone-thickness at the other sidei which, on receiving' the additionalthickness of the wrapper B, tig. 1, would constitute, vwhen closed, abox of single ends, top and bottom, and Awith its front r back composedyrespectively of two and three.thicknesses,the line m and the dotted lineZ exhibiting the added thickness of the wrapper.

-pora-rily tacked, `as before describe .linep and dotted line g, fig. 3.

' muy be lled from one side, permanently closed at that opening,

Another variation of the frame is shown in Figure 3. Here the veneer isnot lapped, but is so scored at n h fn, n :xs-to form the appropriateshape, and the two ends of the veneer. are brought in opposition at r,and

permanently attached to the middle division of the wrapper B, tig. 1,the ends being brought around and temd. This forms a. completed box,with double back and front, as shown by The size of the veneer used forthe frame is less than in either of the others described, as none isused for overlapping.

I do not claim constructing a box with its upper or lower sides hingedand made mov'able, so that thc box and the other or bottom side used asthe top inremoving the fruit; but

Vhut I claim, is- 'A box constructed of two strips of veneer, in whichthe topvor bottomrmztyv be used as bottom or top indiscriminately, andconstructed of two pieces of veneer,

in the manner and for thc purposes set forth.

`JOHN M. PERKINS. a

Witnesses:

FRANK FULLER,L WM.H. BATES.

